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30.05.04, 11:12
Israelis arrest British journalist
Hounam interviewed [whistleblower] Vanunu in 1986 and published details on
Israel's nuclear program in The Sunday Times. Based on the report, experts
concluded that Israel had the world's sixth-largest nuclear arsenal.
From Associated Press, May 27, 2004
Britain expressed concern to Israel on Thursday after Israeli security agents
arrested a British journalist with close ties to nuclear whistleblower
Mordechai Vanunu and detained him in isolation.
The arrest of Peter Hounam reflected Israel's fear of more leaks about its
nuclear weapons program. Details on possible charges against Hounam haven't
been released due to a gag order.
Hounam — who first published Vanunu's revelations about Israel's arsenal in
The Sunday Times of London in the 1986 — was in Israel working on a
documentary about Vanunu for the British Broadcasting Corp.
Vanunu was released last month after 18 years in prison for espionage and
treason, but under conditions of his release he is barred from giving
interviews or meeting with foreigners.
Israeli media reported that Hounam was expected to be released Thursday,
after intervention by Israel's attorney general.
The British ambassador, Simon McDonald, raised the matter in a previously
scheduled meeting with Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, a spokeswoman for the
ambassador said. The embassy was still waiting for a response, she said.
``We're very concerned by his arrest,'' she said. ``This is a serious issue.''
The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the case.
Hounam's lawyer, Avigdor Feldman, was to meet with Hounam later Thursday
afternoon, after initially being told by the Shin Bet he could not speak to
his client for four days.
Feldman said he had no idea why Hounam, 60, was arrested, although he
confirmed reports that Hounam was in possession of a video cassette. He gave
no details on the tape's contents.
Feldman, who also represents Vanunu, said Hounam has not violated any of the
restrictions on Vanunu and called the arrest a farce. Hounam, now working as
a freelance journalist, has been in Israel since Vanunu's release.
Colleagues said Hounam was arrested by Shin Bet agents Wednesday night in the
Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan as he headed to a dinner meeting with Yael
Lotan, an anti-nuclear activist who had lobbied for Vanunu's release from
prison.
``He was about to reach my house. He rang from the car and said he had taken
the wrong turn. I was all set to go downstairs. Instead he disappeared,''
Lotan said.
Within an hour, she said she received a message that he was in his hotel in
Jerusalem, accompanied by Shin Bet agents.
Donatella Rovera, a researcher with the human rights group Amnesty
International who was staying at the same hotel, said she was sitting in the
hotel's garden when Hounam arrived with five plainclothes officers.
``He said 'I'm being arrested, tell the Sunday Times,''' she said, adding
that he was immediately pulled away.
She said the officers searched Hounam's room for about 20 minutes, then took
the reporter, along with several bags, into a vehicle outside.
Hounam interviewed Vanunu in 1986 and published details on Israel's nuclear
program in The Sunday Times. Based on the report, experts concluded that
Israel had the world's sixth-largest nuclear arsenal.
Israel pursues a policy of ambiguity about nuclear weapons, saying only that
it will not be the first to introduce them into the Middle East.
Sunday Times foreign editor Sean Ryan said Hounam has been in Israel since
April 16 to cover Vanunu's release for the newspaper.
``We are trying to establish exactly what the situation is, where he is now
and why he has been detained,'' Ryan said.
A BBC spokeswoman in London said the broadcaster was ``very concerned'' about
the arrest.
The Foreign Press Association, which represents international news
organizations in Israel, expressed ``astonishment'' over the arrest, saying
Hounam's basic rights had been denied, and called on authorities to publicize
any charges against Hounam.
Israeli security officials said Shin Bet agents have been shadowing Vanunu
since his April 21 release, assigning a special unit to surveillance. Vanunu,
a convert to Christianity, has been
